The Best Toy for Your Dog Chew-Happy
You want your dog to be happy, or at least you want him to chew contentedly on the toy without destroying it, because then it goes to the boots. Here are some options for your personal Fido Destroyer.
There is a lot of controversy about what you can let your dog play if it’s not a specific “toy,” but this is because dogs are almost as diverse in their tastes and abilities as humans. A post from u / omfgbecky on LifeProTips got some very hot comments after they suggested replacing tennis balls with racquet balls:
I have a Maltese who can swallow a tennis ball in 5 minutes and a duck toller who loves tossing them into a bowl of water. We switched to racquet balls a couple of years ago and still have the original 3 balls we bought. Their teeth cannot penetrate the material and they are very easy to clean and wear off. Plus, they stay awake!
Reader, beware! The Maltese are tiny as hell. Duck tollers are medium. If you have a big boy, the racket can fall into the hatch, as u / Irvingmike wrote :
Be careful with the larger dogs, a friend of mine took the dog they took two years earlier to the vet for x-rays. The x-ray hit the abdomen, looking for a different problem. The X-ray showed a strange mass in her belly. After surgically removing the mass, they are almost certain it was a racket that the dog swallowed before being adopted. Everyone was shocked that she could even swallow the ball, but here it is.
Here are a few suggestions for gummies for dogs of all sizes that aim to grind whatever remains long enough into tiny pieces.
Durability
The Reddit thread had a number of testimonies of dogs destroying everything from tennis balls to lacrosse balls, and as a result, pieces of them floated in their guts. In some cases, they had to undergo invasive surgery. While sports balls are often used to entertain pets, this is not really their purpose. It’s worth investing in dog toys that are made for dogs, even if they seem to be more expensive. They are more likely to last for a long time and do not require payment by a doctor – so they are cheaper over time.
Several people have recommended Goughnuts, a company that advertises itself as safety first. There are also Kong balls , which are very durable and suitable for ball games. Of course, some dogs chew because they want to sort things out, which might make these options less appealing, as addedquite clearly:
My shepherd’s pit destroys all of his toys. Anything that he cannot destroy is boring for him. I bought him a Goughnut (Lifetime Warranty) and he got tired of it.
He once ate a box of crayons and drank tie dye all day.
Beautiful. It’s hard to let dogs ruin things that aren’t dangerous to swallow either, but in another canine dog thread from 2015, waldo0 recommended this Pogo plush toy that allowed their puppy to pull hard on the coat but didn’t take a break. Perhaps it gives the same sense of accomplishment?
Materials (edit)
You will need something non-toxic in case it gets inside them. Hard rubber, like Goughnuts, is best, according to Labrador Training HQ. The next best choice is rope, which will last a long time. It can also help those dogs who are fed up with rubber toys if you get up and play tug-of-war with them from time to time.
Rope toys can be fun with interactive games. And they’re also good for brushing your teeth, they’re easy to wash (which you need to do after they clean your dog’s mouth), and swallowing a few fibers probably won’t be a problem. They go right through.
What to look for
Whenever you buy your dog a new toy, be sure to watch with him. If the pieces seem to be disappearing or the toy gets smaller every time it falls at your feet, throw it away: your dog needs something stronger. And for heaven’s sake, consider the size of the ball. They shouldn’t even come close to swallowing, regardless of their size.